Improvement in railways



B. C. SMITH.

RAILWAY.

No. 36,579'. Patented Sept-30,1862.

Norms amm cn.. pHoro-umu.. wAsumGrun u c UNITED `STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BARZILLAI C. SMITH, OF BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY S.

Spccitication forming part of Letters Patent No.'l 36,579, dated September 30, 156:2.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BARZILLAI C. SMITH, of Burlington, Burlington county, New Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in Railways; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters o tf reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to improvement's in the patent granted to me on the 9th day of July, 1861, and my improvements consist, rst, in combining a series of longitudinal cast-iron girders secured to each other and bedded into the ground with a series of rails rendered detachable, so as to be reversed or replaced with new rails, thereby overcoming the defects o'f my above-mentioned patent oi' July 9, 1861, in which the rail was cast to and formed a part of the girder; secondly, in a device for connecting the rails to the girders at points where both the lateral and vertical security of the rails are required; thirdly, in a device for connecting the rails to the girders at points where lateral security only ofthe rails is required; fourthly, in a peculiar device for securing two adjacent beams or girders to each other, and, iifthly, in a mode of connecting the tie rods to the beams or girders.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention', I will now perspective view of the end of one ofthe crossties; Fig. 6, a plan view (drawn to a reduced scale) of the rails and girders, &c.; Fig. 7, a diagram illustrating a modification of my improvement.

A is a cast-iron beam or girder, having vertical flanges y y extending throughout its whole length. This girder is simply bedded into the ground, as described iu my patent of July 9, 186i, and forms the foundation for the rail B, which is secured both vertically and laterally to the girder in the following manner: 4

C and C' are two enst-iron brackets, one being situated on one side and the other on the opposite side of the rail B, and both resting on the upper surface of the girdcr A. Each brackct'has'on the under side a projection, a, which passes through an opening in the girder, and a lip, b, which bears against the under side of the girder. (See Fig. l.)

The portion Z ot' the bracket C is made to ,conform to the side of the rail against which it bears; but between the portion d of the bracket C and the rail B intervcnes a wedge,

D, which is arranged to lit snnglybetwcen the upper and lower fianges of the rail.

It will be observed that the outer end of`the bracket C bears against a projection, e, on the girder A, and that the outer end of the bracket C bears against a similar projection, e', these projections being so formed as to confine the brackets in their proper position longitudinally.

It will be observed that when the wedge D is driven tight into its place the effect will be to depress the outer ends of the two brackets and force them against' the projections c and e', .while the lips b are forced upward against the under side of the girder, to which the rail is thus eft'cctnally confined both vertically and laterally. Vhen the rail has to be detached from the girder, the wedge D is in the first instance withdrawn, after which both brackets can be readily removed by first raising them at the cuter ends clear of the retaining projections c and c', then moving them laterally until the lips b are released from the girder, when the projections a can be withdrawn through the openings in the girders.

Although I prefer the use of two-detachable brackets, in some instances the bracket C may be cast directly to the girder, while the bracket C and its key are made detachable, in the manner described above.

A recess is formed in the upper snrlace of the girder at or near the point where the brackets are situated, for the reception ot astrip, m,-

of gatta-perche, hardwood, or metal of a character which will tend to absorb the shocks to which the girder would he otherwise 'subjected when heavy loads pass over the rails. At certain intervals, where there is no necessity of securing the rail vertically to the girder, but where lateral security is required, I adopt the device illustrated inFig. 2.

E and E are two permanent brackets cast to the girder, and situated so far apart from each other that the flange of the rail B can pass freely between them.

Between the rail and each bracket intervenes a block, F, which is slightly wedge` formed, this block being furnished with anges m m, which retain it in its proper position in respect to the brackets, the inside of the block being made to conform to the shape of the rail. Their own weightissufcientto maintain these blocks in their proper position, and they can be readily removed by raising them vertically.

In order to secure two adjacent beams A to each other, I cast on each beam at or near the point where the two meet each other, and on each side of said beams, a projection, G, that of one beam being exactly opposite to that of the adjacent beam.

A strap, H, is arranged to tit over the said projections and to beaagainst the sides ofthe same, the upper portion of the strap fitting over the lips li, while a key, I, driven through the strap, serves to confine it efeetually to the project-ions, the strap thus maintaining the ends oftwo adjacent girders in proper contact with each other. \Vhen the adjacent girders have to be disconnected from eachother, the keys I are withdrawn from the straps, the latter elevated so as to be clear of the lips l1, and then removed from the projections G.

It is necessary, in order that the two rails of the track may be `maintained ata uniform distance apart, to connect'the girders A supporting one rail to the girders supporting the other rails of t-he track to each other. This I accomplish by means of the rodsK, Fig. 3'; the heads k of each rod being arranged to (it snugly in a recess or chamber formed between the projections G G of two adjacent beams, while the rod itself is maintained in its proper vertical position by shoulders n n., formed on the said projections, and by the straps H. The head at the opposite end ofthe rod is confined to the girders which form the foundations of the opposite rails precisely in the sameV manner.A

The ends of the girders, instead of being at.

right angles to the sides, may be inclined, as seen in Fig. 2, the lugs G G and straps H being in this case also used to connect two adjacent girders together.

Care should be taken in arranging the rails and girders that the point of junction of two adjacent rails are midway, or thereabout, between the opposite ends of one of the girders. as seen in Fig. 7.

In my former patent of July 9, 1861, the rail was cast to and formed a part of the gi rde r, so that when the rail is worn the entire girder becomes useless; hence the .importance of making the rail separate from the girder, so that the former, when worn, can beA reversed, or when totally useless can be replaced with a new one without disturbing the foundation girder.

It will be evident that the method described of connecting two adjacent beams or girders to each other is at once cheap, simple, and efV fective, and that byadopting the simple plan described of connecting the tierods K to the girder the usual screw and nut arrangements and expensive fitting are avoided.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. Combining a series ot' longitudinal castiron girders, A.,A secured to each other and bedded into the ground, with a series of detachable rails, B, substantially as set forth, for the purpose specied.

2. The brackets C and C', the latter being either fixed or loose, and the wedge D, the whole being' combined with and applied. to the girder and rails, substantially as set forth.

3. The projections E and E' on the girder A, in combination with the rail B anddetach.;

able wedgefor1ned blocks E, the whole being arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. Securing t he adjacent beams to each other by means of the straps H, applied to the pro-'J' jections G G and secured thereto by lips h and key I, substantially as specified. y

5. Connecting the tie-rod K to the beams by confining the head in a recess formed ,beV tween projections G G, as specified.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my mime to thisspecilication in the presence of two subscribing` witnesses.

B. o. SMITH. Witnesses:

HENRY HoWsoN, CHARLES HoWsoN. 

